Manu, in Hindu legend, 14 progenitors of humanity, each of whom rules the world for a period of time known as a manvantara, the duration of which is 4,320,000 years. The first Manu was called Svayambhuva, meaning "son of the self-existent," or Brahma. According to the Indian epic poem Mahabharata, he authored the Laws of Manu, a renowned code of Hindu law said to have originally consisted of 100,000 verses, but today consisting of 2685 verses. The present Manu is the seventh, called Vaivasvata. "Laws of Manu (Manu Dharma Shastras) as written ca 400CE. Its 2,685 verses codify cosmogony, four ashramas, government, domestic affairs, caste and morality (others date at -600 BCE)."